The next generation of high technology materials for use in aerospace and aircraft applications will need to possess high temperature capability combined with high stiffness and strength. Components fabricated from laminated metal matrix composites, as opposed to monolithic materials, provide the potential for meeting these requirements and thereby significantly advancing the designer's ability to meet the required elevated temperature and structural strength and stiffness specifications while minimizing weight.
These types of laminated metal matrix composites generally have relatively long continuous lengths of a reinforcing fibrous material, such as aluminum oxide, in a matrix of a metal such as aluminum. Continuous fiber metal matrix composite structures may be generally formed by casting the molten matrix metal into a mold containing a preform of fibers. Pressure may be used to force the matrix metal to surround the fibers. The casting molds used in this type of process are expensive, with the cost dramatically increasing as the size of the mold increases.
Fiber reinforced metal matrix composite tubes or cylinders have been prepared by winding preformed fiber reinforced aluminum tapes on a mandrel. The wound metal matrix composite tapes are consolidated with adjacent tape layers by providing a brazed layer on one side of the tape and brazing the adjacent tape layers to one another as the tape is wound on the mandrel, thereby joining and immediately consolidating the laid-down tapes to form a cylinder. The resulting composite tubes generally provide layers of the matrix metal containing the reinforcing fibers and layers of the brazing material.